Manager Chris Hughton refused to point the finger at individual players for the errors that contributed to Norwich City's third successive Premier League defeat.

Manchester City won 4-3 at Carrow Road with a helping hand from a Norwich rearguard that has conceded 15 goals in the last six league and cup games.

Defender Sebastien Bassong misjudged a header leading to the Blues' first goal and was outsmarted for the third – goalkeeper Mark Bunn raced out and was stranded for the second goal and was beaten at the near post for the fourth. On a day of defensive uncertainty, full-back Javier Garrido also came close to scoring a bizarre own goal.

'I'm always concerned when we concede four goals but we are not going to go through a season conceding one goal a game or two a game,' said Hughton.

'Every now and then you are going to get caught against the best teams. It's difficult to keep the levels game after game, so there will always be the bad ones but it is about how you recover from them.'

Asked about the fourth Manchester City goal, officially a Bunn own goal after Edin Dzeko's shot struck the woodwork and went in off the 'keeper, Hughton said: 'I have not spoken to him but I think in any goal we concede you are always going to pull players out, always going to apportion a little bit of blame – that is normal with goals, exactly the same way I suppose that they will have looked at the three goals we scored and felt they could have done better.

'But it is not a day to apportion blame. We showed great character to come back but we did concede poor goals. You can't be 2-0 down so early in the game and not expect to have a really tough day.'

The Canaries attempt to arrest their holiday slump at West Ham tomorrow (3pm) with Hughton returning to another of his former clubs. He said: 'West Ham are a good side. They have dipped a little bit of late but they are a strong side at home.

'They can mix up their game, they've got a good balance of hitting the front and working off Carlton Cole and picking up the pieces, and some of the quality play they have – Matt Jarvis in a wide area getting crosses in.

'I expect a really tough game, particularly at their place.

'It is only nice to go back to an old club is if you get something. It's the only time you can enjoy it.'